Candy Ventures misses out on Earl’s Court development project

REAL-ESTATE tycoon Nick Candy has missed out in the race to buy a luxury property development in Earl’s Court. Capital & Counties (Capco) said last night it had agreed to sell its interest in the project to investment firms APG and Delancey for £425m.

The deal, which excludes Lillie Square, comes after one of Mr Candy’s funds said last month that it was considering a cash offer for the FTSE 250 titan. Mr Candy, who developed the One Hyde Park complex in Knightsbridge with his brother Christian, confirmed he was in early stage talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund regarding a joint swoop on Capco.

However, in a statement released last night, Candy Ventures said it does not intend to make an offer for Capco. The 85-year-old Capco, which also owns much of Covent Garden, has a market value of £2.3bn.

Ian Hawksworth, chief executive of Capco, said: “We are now pleased to have agreed terms for the sale of our interests to APG and Delancey (on behalf of its client fund), an experienced real estate investment partnership, which, with the support of Transport for London (TFL), will take forward this important scheme for London.”

He added that the company would be well-positioned after the disposal “to generate attractive long-term returns for shareholders”.

The transaction for the Earl’s Court development is expected to be completed before the end of this month and follows years of struggling to get building plans approved.

The west London site has been a victim of falling house prices in the capital and stricter local planning laws about affordable housing, causing Capco to write millions of pounds worth of value off the site.

The project, which is valued at less than half the £800m price tag in 2015, has planning permission for 3.4m sq ft of homes and commercial space.

Last year Capco it said it was mulling a decision to split its Covent Garden and Earl’s Court developments into two separate listed companies.

‘The sale of our interests to APG and Delancey will take forward this important scheme for London’